Oil market rebalancing to speed up in second half - OPEC's Barkindo

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - A rebalancing of the oil market is progressing more slowly than expected, but it will speed up in the second half of the year, OPEC's Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said on Sunday. "We are pretty sure that the rebalancing process may be going at a slower pace than earlier projected, but it is on course. It is bound to accelerate in the second half," Barkindo told reporters in the Russian city of St Petersburg. Barkindo cited strong oil demand growth, conformity with a global pact by OPEC and non-OPEC countries to cut output as well as an inventory draw in the United States as reasons why a rebalancing of the oil market would speed up. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Rania El Gamal; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Toby Chopra)